Note to reader: There are a good many ‘might’s and ‘maybe’s and ‘if’s and ‘could’s in this paper. This is not because I am uncertain of myself, but because I am uncertain of the future. Nothing is set in stone except the Ten Commandments. No matter what I wish and hope for my future, things will not turn out exactly as I plan. All I can do is prepare myself for what is coming by...

Note to Reader: This is for me, guys. If you're reading it, that's great, but this is for me. I've noticed that I've been a little off lately. My mom has noticed too, and she's worried, and that makes me feel like the scum of the earth. So this is for every time I'm not quite right. It's something to bring me up to par, I guess. It's something to remind me that even though I can't change...

In response to: honestly, rachel? a load of bull crap.Honestly, Rebeca?On your foot, it is.Notice how through all of that,you've still got people by your sidewhich obviously means you're not exactly the devil, darling.I know it's not easy for you,heck, you've got more on your plate than any eighth graders should have to feast on,but please understand that at our age,it's not easy for anyone.There...

You know that whole "think before you speak" thing?Screw it.One of the most wonderful things to hear escape his chapped lips is the sentence he doesn't think about. Maybe it's because I catch him off guard, maybe his mind was somewhere else entirely, but whatever the reason, it's like a whole other voice emerging from within, but still him. Ya know? Those are always the quick, automatic answers,...

About him not noticing the little things, that is.He asked about my tiny gold Star of David necklace.He giggled when I laughed at one of his jokes and promptly pointed out all of my dimples, including the three by my eye.He noticed that I've only worn my Braves jacket once or twice, preferring my Bulls one over it ("Oh, I get it! New year, new jacket." )He knows I couldn't care less about...

Like how I know he’s listening.Little snippets of conversations I’ve had had a million times that I don’t even think twice about that he brings up days, even weeks later. It’s about everything I never think about that pertains to me. “So you don’t bother to check if it’s from the front end of the cow or the back? You just don’t eat beef at all?” “Oh, your sister’s boyfriend,...

I think there’s something odd about me.I mean, I already knew that. Heck, we all knew that.But there’s something I can’t put my finger.People tell me I come on a little strong.It bothers me that I can’t tell if it’s good or bad.I can’t tell if it’s one of those things you see in comic books where there’s something buried deep, deep down inside a person that one day makes them snap...

It's odd,but latelyall of my journals and thoughts having been turning intopoems.This isn't one,or at least I don't thinkit is,but you see how the lines breakand what is emphasizedwithout bolds or italics or underlines?If you read itthe way it's writteninstead of like reading a story,it sounds a littlefunny,right?But after a while,it starts to sound sort ofpoetic.I think it's kind of cool,the way...

As we sat in front of Guitar Hero II munching on our individually packaged corn dogs and laughing about the time we decided to test the flammability of Kroger brand potato chips, I realized something.This kid means way more to me than I am willing to admit.I seriously don’t think I would be able to survive if anything ever happened to him, and I don’t want to find out.All I know is that when I...